A mobile application service provider such as OnStar.RTM. provides information and services to the vehicles of subscribers from a service center through vehicle installed wireless telecommunication apparatus. One type of service provided, in response to a request from a subscriber, is the selection of a specific point of interest from a stored database and the communication to the vehicle of data associated with the specific point of interest in the database. Such associated data typically includes identification (name), location data (address) and dialable telephone number. For example, a traveling subscriber may call from an equipped vehicle and request a restaurant serving a particular kind of food, or a hotel. If the call is from the equipped vehicle, the mobile application service center silently obtains GPS or other vehicle position data from the vehicle via the telecommunication apparatus; and an advisor receives the subscriber's request, consults a stored database for the nearest points of interest meeting the subscriber's criteria, suggests possible points of interest to the subscriber, receives the subscriber's choice, verbally provides identification and location information to the subscriber and, if authorized, places a call to the selected point of interest with the dialable telephone number. The advisor may also provide the telephone number verbally to the subscriber, so that the subscriber may call the point of interest directly via the vehicle wireless telecommunication apparatus at a later time. The advisor may also, or alternatively, provide a download of the dialable telephone number to the vehicle for automated dialing by the subscriber by the press of a key at a later time.
The vehicle installed wireless telecommunication apparatus may be equipped for "hands free" operation, with a microphone and speaker audio interface and with voice recognition software preprogrammed to recognize certain commands, names and other special words that enable the subscriber to operate the telephone without using a handset. But the words to be recognized must be programmed into the vehicle apparatus in the form of voice models; and such words for new points of interest provided to the vehicle in operation cannot be easily provided in advance. If no such word is available, the subscriber placing a call to a point of interest suggested by the advisor cannot initiate "hands free" dialing of the provided number by use of a simple word or phrase, but must remember or read the telephone number from a display and speak the telephone number digit by digit. Thus the "hands free" potential of the system is not maximized. Alternatively, if the system provides for the vehicle operator to enter such a word by speaking it, such entry requires the operator to exert extra effort to either think of an appropriate word or select such a word suggested by the advisor, and then speak the word, usually several times, in a less than ideal audio environment, to "train" the system. Thus the advantages of the "hands free" potential of the system are partially frustrated.